


maybe in another life (i could have you)

by agayhurricane



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Canon Divergence, Fix It Fic, Fix-It, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Parallel Universes, Unrequited Love, this is very fucking late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 22:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11171694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agayhurricane/pseuds/agayhurricane
Summary: He didn’t want to, but the moment Alibaba dropped down on one knee and declared his love for someone else, he knew that he had to go away. Again.





	maybe in another life (i could have you)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written nearly a year ago, it has taken root within my heart and has honestly served as my coping mechanism after the cursed chapter 314; no hate y’all, I’m just sad. Very sad
> 
> If you’re reading this, it means that I have more or less gotten over the pain of reading chapter 314, and now feel free to share it with the rest of you. And so, here it is, this fic, one of the last things that bled out of my dying love for magi.

The sun had already begun its retreat into the lilac streaked clouds. Ren Hakuryuu watched its quick descent, quite surprised. Had he really been there for that long? His limbs jolted suddenly, answering his question. Pins and needles prickled his nerves. A vague thought surfaced in the back of his head, something about going home before dark. The streets of Qishan weren’t known for their safety, despite the established laws in the new world.

A few more minutes shouldn’t hurt though. He wasn’t at all anxious to be reunited with the group after the recent whirlwind of events. He eyed the pack beside him that contained all his things. Maybe he should stay in a different place for the night, under the pretence that he didn’t feel so well and didn’t want the others to catch it. Or maybe he should just leave entirely. Again

He considered looking for Judar. That was a good idea wasn’t it? He would search for him, find him, and give him a good piece of his mind. And maybe a whack upside the head while he was at it. Or a punch straight to that snickering face. Maybe both. He could also use Zagan and decompose that stupidly long hair of h—

His ear was tickled by a faint rustle, coming from an alarmingly small distance away. He snapped out of his progressively morbid thoughts and turned, on guard, before belatedly realizing it was nothing to worry about.

Aladdin held his hands up, shooting him a wary smile. “You disappeared all of a sudden and your things were gone, so I came to look for you.” The blue haired boy patted the space on the stone bench. “This seat taken?”

The former emperor of Kou relaxed. “You know it isn’t.”

“Mm,” the magi sat down and pulled up his legs up to his chest, hugging his knees against the chilly night air of the desert. Hakuryuu felt him glance his way but he didn’t say anything. In the silence, Aladdin’s question sounded more like a statement. “Is something wrong?”

His answer was immediate: “No.”

Aladdin stifled a snort, “That has got to be one of the biggest lies I’ve ever heard.” He reached forward, plucking something out from the air under Hakuryuu’s nose, cupping it in his palms. He presented it to the dark-haired man, who stared blankly at…emptiness.

“What am I looking at?”

“Your rukh.” Aladdin said, matter-of-factly, “It’s blue.”

“You expect me to believe something I can’t even—”

Light flickered between the magi’s slim fingers and the unmistakable glow of a spirit bird materialized between them. Its normally glimmering white was replaced by a forlorn indigo shine, like the sea’s waves in the middle of a cloudy night.

“—see…” Hakuryuu finished lamely.

“You’ve been around me long enough to know what this means,” Aladdin blew on the rukh, sending it fluttering before dissolving on Hakuryuu’s forehead with the barest shimmer. “You’re sad.” Blue eyes scrutinized him for a second before adding: “Very.”

“Am I?” Hakuryuu asked. He wanted it to sound sarcastic, but his voice came out weaker than he’d intended. The night air felt punishing but he refrained from wrapping his arms around himself.

Aladdin frowned. “You just proved my point,” he said. The magi scooted a bit closer, worry etched in the soft lines of his face. “It’s been five years,” he began cautiously. “If this is still about… Do still feel—?”

Hakuryuu cut him off with an unnecessarily loud sigh, “I don’t, Aladdin.” He didn’t want to talk about this, not _now_ , not when he couldn’t even think properly.

“The rukh don’t lie,” Aladdin insisted, “You still like Morgiana, I know.”

“Aladdin—”

“Please, Hakuryuu, just hear me out, I know that you feel jealous.”

He couldn’t know, he shouldn’t. There was no way he’d be telling him but for Solomon’s sake if he didn’t _shut up_ —

“Ala—”

“We can talk things out! You can tell me anything.” The young magi barrelled on, raising his voice slightly to be heard over Hakuryuu’s complaints. “I really think you don’t want Alibaba to know—”

“That it’s _Morgiana_ I’m jealous of and not him?” Hakuryuu finally snapped. He glared at Aladdin, too aggravated and wounded and a dozen other things he couldn’t even _name_ to feel embarrassed. Aladdin’s lips were parted, stunned. He had asked for Hakuryuu to open up yes; he didn’t know what he was expecting, but it was certainly not _this_.

Hakuryuu shook his head, already regretting what he had done. “I made up my mind. I’m going in search of Judar.”

That seemed to do the trick. Aladdin blinked as if waking from a particularly unusual dream. “H-Hakuryuu, wait!” He grabbed onto the former emperor’s robes just as he was about to stand.

Exasperated, Hakuryuu shook him off and slung his pack over one shoulder. “I told you, I’ve already decided,” he straightened and turned on his heel and made to depart.

Aladdin’s next words made him stop. “D-do you not plan on telling him?”

Completely taken aback by the incredulity of the idea, Hakuryuu chuckled, bitterly. “And ruin whatever semblance of happiness he has? Why would I?”

The blue haired magi was rendered speechless. What could you possibly say to that anyway? He wanted to comfort the dark haired dungeon conqueror, but he was at loss. “But you told Morgiana… before.” He argued feebly.

“I wish you would stop comparing these two instances as if they are the same, Aladdin; they are not.” He faced him. “I appreciate your concern really, but there’s nothing more you can do. And as a last request please…”

The hard, apathetic mask slipped. Aladdin’s breath caught in his throat upon seeing Hakuryuu so _vulnerable_ , sadness and remorse written clearly on his scarred visage. “I would appreciate if you don’t tell him any of this.”

A horrible sense of déjà vu crawled up Aladdin’s spine. This happened before: when they parted in Aktia. That time, Aladdin had failed to stop him, and when they next met, Hakuryuu had already fallen into depravity. Had Aladdin succeeded in changing Hakuryuu’s mind then, they probably would be facing a different future now. Even as a Magi, he had his limits, and there was no way he could tell if letting Hakuryuu go again would be for better or for worse. Still he tried. There was still something he had to know. “Hakuryuu… How long have you felt like this? Why didn’t you tell him before?”

That gave him a pause. “I couldn’t say for myself,” he said finally and so softly that Aladdin had to strain his ears to hear him. “Maybe I always have… But I didn’t realize. By the time I did, it was too late.” The mask was quick to return afterwards, like clouds quickly gathering before a storm. “I’ve said enough.” He gave a short nod. “Good bye Aladdin. I’ll catch up later.”

Aladdin nodded slowly in return. Indecision tore at his insides, but he knew he had to trust Hakuryuu to do what he thought best for all of them. He shouldn’t impose on his choices.  A hint of hesitation showed despite his efforts when he waved his hand. “Good bye, Hakuryuu…”

Suppressing a sneeze, Aladdin rubbed his arms, channelling a bit of heat magic to warm himself up. Furrowing his brows, he belatedly realized that it was getting late. He should get going, otherwise Alibaba would worry.

 _Alibaba_ … How would he tell him?

Lost in his thoughts, the Magi failed to notice the tear that glistened down Hakuryuu’s cheek when he turned to leave. The two parted without another word, the former pensive and the latter conflicted.

Hakuryuu stopped a few paces later when he was certain that Aladdin was far away. He couldn’t keep the mask up; he didn’t have to. A sense of uncanny familiarity filled him as he wiped at his eyes, cursing himself for crying. He gathered that the frustration he felt was similar to when he was in the Dungeon of Zagan, unable to have something that was right in front of him.

The only difference was that, in the dungeon he was able to acquire the power he so desired eventually, whereas now, the thing that his heart ached for the most was terribly close yet already so hopelessly out of his reach. He remembered something that Aladdin had said in Zagan’s dungeon: “No one would want to live in hatred and suffering. That’s why, no matter what hardships we must endure, we should think about what to do. Toward the direction of light and dazzling hope… we should move forward and keep walking. That’s the rukh’s guidance. The true meaning of fate.”

 _Moving forward, huh_. At the moment, Hakuryuu wasn’t so sure of that. He couldn’t explain why, but through the haze of his tears, he smiled. Maybe in another life, he could have him. An unexplainable sensation overflowed in his chest then, something strange but not at all unpleasant, similar to finding something new, being hesitantly curious. Like how he felt when he first met Alibaba.

Somewhere else in Qishan, Alibaba Saluja was experiencing the exact same feeling, but he wrote it off as excitement at being newly engaged with the woman he loved.

Neither of them were anywhere near knowing that someplace else, in a world parallel but completely different from theirs, a shy little prince with a scarred face just bumped into a  boy a bit older than he was, a little boy with golden hair and a smile as bright as the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to continue this at one point into a proper reincarnation au or whatnot but I fell out of magi before I even got to start. Tragic, but hey, in all fairness, I think I did pretty well here. More or less. (if you think so too, you can leave a comment. I live for those. xo)


End file.
